The Light Division is rightly regarded as the most famous force within
Wellington's army in the Peninsular War. Often the first into every
battle and the last to withdraw, the men of the Light Division were
trained to act independently and think for themselves as well as
operating in their battalion formations.
The regiments which comprised the Light Division were present at almost
every battle, large or small, throughout the Peninsular War. Many
people, however, associate the Light Division with the men of the 95th
Rifles, wearing in the distinctive green uniforms made famous in the
Sharpe novels.
What is less understood is that the majority of the Light Division
actually consisted of troops dressed in the traditional red uniforms.
These were men who, although equally capable of skirmishing as light
infantry, actually spent the vast majority of their time formed as
regular infantry, fighting in line, column or square.
The 95th Rifles has literally a dozen or more memorialists including
many famous ones such as Kincaid, Harry Smith, Harris, Costello, Leach,
Simmons and others, who have been published and republished countless
times. But the 52nd Foot - the first of the regiments of the Light
Division to be trained as light infantry - has, until now, been largely
unrepresented.
After decades of research, Gareth Glover has unearthed a collection of
short memoirs from soldiers of the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment which
have never been published before and one previously published, but now
virtually unobtainable. This collection will undoubtedly add an
essential element to our understanding of the role of the Light Division
both in battle and on campaign.
